Jones's severed tentacles regenerated rapidly, writhing back into shape even as the storm overhead intensified. The rain had begun to weaken earlier, but with Teach's presence on the battlefield, moisture gathered once more. Sheets of water poured down harder than before.
Even so, everyone could still see clearly. The lone reporter, drenched to the bone, hunched over the Transponder Snail with professional fervor. He shielded it with his own body and had even stripped off his jacket to drape over the snail. The umbrella Teach's earlier hurricane had blown away was returned to him by a surprisingly considerate Nightfall Pirate, who planted it beside him. A few more pirates crowded in as well, which warmed the man's heart even as their blood-soaked armor made him tremble.
Jones's fury rippled through the storm. "Brat, since you insist on clinging to that Devil Fruit, you can be buried with it. The palace can be rebuilt. Your corpse will not be found this time next year."
His tentacles slammed into the ground with enough force to split the earth. Using them like pillars, his enormous body lifted high into the air. Eight massive limbs spread wide, forming a colossal shadow overhead. Each tentacle bristled with rows of gnashing mouthparts.
He dropped like a meteor, intent on crushing Teach outright.
Teach did not move. He simply watched the looming mass with a small, confident smile. He could have escaped easily before Jones fell, yet chose not to.
Redyat frowned for a moment. Teach had never struck him as reckless. If anything, Teach's instincts were frighteningly precise.
The collision should have been catastrophic. Yet after the first thunderous boom, the world fell oddly quiet. Between them, a vortex of swirling black energy spun from Teach's upraised palm, drinking in Jones's impact like water down a drain.
Teach laughed. "Dark Water."
Darkness flowed like liquid, swallowing all force and impact. Yet Teach's arm trembled slightly, his jaw tight. Redyat understood immediately.
Absorbing damage did not make the pain vanish. For Teach, that pain doubled.
Redyat chuckled. "Powerful, truly unsolvable. But it feels miserable, doesn't it."
Teach had read everything he could about the Dark-Dark Fruit. He wanted to test the limits of the pain he could withstand, and Jones's monstrous attack was the perfect gauge. The agony ripped through him, yet he endured without letting his composure slip. He would never roll on the ground in front of the world. Pride demanded otherwise.
When the impact fully dissipated, Teach lifted Jones effortlessly with one hand.
"Your turn is over. Now it's my turn."
Endless black energy streamed up Teach's arm and burst outward. "Dark Bind."
Dozens of inky chains lashed around Jones's immense form. Gravity twisted inward, locking his body from all sides. Though the chains looked like illusions, the compressed dark matter within them was impossibly sturdy.
Jones roared and strained. With a surge of raw brute strength, he snapped one chain. Another trembled. He pushed harder.
Teach smirked. "Still struggling?"
More chains shot out. Eight new bindings wrapped around him, crushing all movement. Jones's power became meaningless under the multiplying weight.
Gravity clamped from every direction. The more chains Teach conjured, the heavier the pressure became. Panic crept into Jones's eyes.
Suddenly, his body began to shrink.
He was trying to escape by reverting his beast form. Viewers assumed this was his strategy. They did not realize the truth. Jones's Devil Fruit had simply shut down. It was present inside him, but utterly unusable.
He tried to shout. Teach thrust another chain into his mouth, gagging him. From the outside, it looked like Jones had simply bitten down in desperation.
He shrank all the way back to his original form, though still wrapped tightly in chains that retracted in tandem with his size. Bound head to toe, he floated helplessly as anti-gravity lifted him from the ground.
Teach did not bother holding him anymore. He looked at Jones with tired satisfaction. The war's final feast was moments away.
Teach raised his right claw, dark energy swirling menacingly. Jones's heart thudded with primal terror. Something in Teach's gaze froze him completely. Those pitch-black pupils pinned him in place. Breath lodged in his throat.
The world held still.
Teach pressed his fingers together until they formed a spinning drill of darkness.
"Now, you can go to hell."
The drill thrust forward. A sharp black flash carved through the storm.
"Demon Claw. Execution."
Teach's hand erupted through Jones's chest, the claw emerging from his back. Jones's pupils shrank, his body jerking violently. His vitality ebbed away as darkness devoured him.
To the world, King Levinsky Jones died in that instant.
Only the Nightfall Pirates watching from nearby noticed the truth. Teach had twisted his wrist the moment before the strike landed, allowing the drill to pass beside the heart instead of through it. The heart suffered damage, but not total destruction. The Giant Demon Fruit and Jones's monstrous vitality kept one faint breath lingering.
Teach spared him intentionally.
Yet to the kingdom and to the viewers across West Blue, Jones was gone. The century-long reign of the Levinsky royal family had ended before their eyes.
What followed would reshape the entire Kraken Kingdom. Would a new king rise, or would the Tirisfal Kingdom claim victory at last? Their army still stood, but without a king, its morale would collapse.
What no one knew was that those who might have seized power had already been eliminated. Their forces had been quietly replaced. Every piece had been arranged long before this battle.
And as the storm raged over the ruined palace, the kingdom's fate fell into darkness.